Power Outage
by Meepa
Summary: Strange things happen in the dark.  Honda x Ryou x Jyounouchi.


This was another writing prompt I was given: the pairing is Honda x Jyounouchi x Ryou, and the word is "power outage". This was actually really hard to write and it took me several months of on and off (mostly off) working. But I am pleased with how it came out in the end! And I have to say, I do like the three of them. They're cute. It somehow doesn't have a name in the shippings list, though... Huh.

Disclaimer: Don't own the series, dudes.

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><p>The day had dragged on quite long, but after school was over, the time just sped by. Evening found Honda and Jyounouchi both on the floor of Ryou's too-big apartment, staring intently at the television. It was true that Ryou's skill in video games weren't as good as Jyounouchi's but he was more familiar with RPGs than the blonde was. The fair-haired teen was quite pleased that he was finally able to put his extra controllers to use, as well as his multi-player (optional) game. Unfortunately, Yuugi and Anzu couldn't make it, both for different reasons (as much as Jyounouchi joked otherwise). Yuugi was dragged off to help his mother with something or other and Anzu was babysitting for a family friend.<p>

He had to admit that he did enjoy the two ex-thugs' company alone however, even when Jyounouchi was too energetic and when Honda was too quiet. They were both unique in their own ways, but also very similar. Ryou had been thinking about them quite a lot lately and it had taken him many weeks to figure out that it _might _be a bit more than hero worship. Honda had saved him multiple times during the year plus of bumpy ride they'd had with the Items. Jyounouchi and Honda really were a great team and together it seemed like they could take out most anything (or distract most anything while the others came up with a plan). Ryou could appreciate these traits, since he had never had much in the way of physical strength, as he preferred to put his body to use in other ways – like sculpting and modeling. And yet, even though Jyounouchi was a fighter, and Honda was his partner in crime but also the level-headed voice of reason, the three of them all had things in common that they could enjoy together. Ryou was happy to do just that, and having to explain what equip items were most useful and where to put stat points didn't take any of his joy away.

They were just about to go up against the first boss of the game when very suddenly there was a pop and everything went black. Ryou sucked in a breath because it had startled him, Honda asked what had happened while trying to get his eyes adjusted to the dark, and Jyounouchi just started screaming. Ryou realized that at first he was screaming out of fear but then it was aggravation at the fact that their game data was wiped clean back to the last save point and now, on top of that, there was nothing to do. He tossed the controller down in a huff and plopped back on the carpet with his arms crossed, grumbling sour words under his breath. Honda reprimanded him not to damage the electronics, but it was obvious that he was put-off, too. He was certainly handling it better than his blonde companion, though.

Ryou laughed at this, but it was really just something he did when he didn't have anything else to say and not that he thought the situation was funny. "I think the heat caused a power outage," he explained as he pushed himself up to his feet. It had been painfully warm in Domino for the past few days and it seemed that the strain of having everyone running their air-conditioners finally took its toll. "I'll go get the flashlight and some candles."

At least by this point he could make out vague outlines of the tables and corners. Unfortunately, he did misjudge exactly where the rug near the hallway was and he yelped when his slipper snagged under it. It didn't register that he'd actually fallen until he heard movement behind him.

"Hey Bakura, you alright?" asked Jyounouchi.

"Yeah, you want us to help you?" Honda piped in.

Ryou laughed again and shook his foot free before he sat up on his knees. Now his hands stung from the impact, and he was annoyed by that even though it could have been much worse. "Oh... I guess I don't know my apartment as well as I thought," he said as he rolled his wrist to try to loosen it back up. "You both can come with me if you want," he went on, repeating the action with his other arm before standing back up, "though it shouldn't take very long." He thought he could see Jyounouchi's mop of hair shifting around in the darkness but it was much harder to see Honda. His hair was darker and his skin was, too. It seemed he'd spent more time out in the sun than his friend, even though Ryou was certain there were few places they didn't go together. Maybe Jyounouchi just had a harder time tanning than Honda did.

"Well if you've got it, I'm staying here," the blonde said and Ryou could just barely see him sit back on his heels. Honda didn't follow him.

"I'll go with you. I'd feel useless just sitting around," he added and it might have been a playful snipe at his friend. Ryou could imagine the slighter of the two bristling at the comment, but only his mind could see it even if it really happened. He smiled.

"I wouldn't mind the company," he replied, and it left the option for Jyounouchi to change his mind without having to lose too much dignity for it.

Ryou heard more grumbling and then Honda spoke over his friend. "Come on, Jyounouchi, we all know you're too afraid to stay here by yourself in the dark." The smirk could be heard very plainly in his voice.

"Screw you!" the blonde snapped but the rustling of clothes said he was grudgingly giving in. "I ain't scared and you know it," he added after to nurse his pride. Had the lights been on he probably would have physically harassed the other over it.

There then came a problem in this new plan; neither Honda or Jyounouchi could see any better than Ryou could and they knew his apartment less then he did. Not wanting them to trip as he had, the white-haired boy tried to flatten the rug back down with his foot while he held both of his hands out to stop the two from walking straight into him. "Watch your step," he warned, and jumped a little when he felt what he thought was Honda press into his fingers, bending them back slightly. It was silly how people could be startled even when they were expecting what as about to happen...

"Sorry," the brunette offered, and Ryou found he'd been right in his guess. "Hey, quit taking such big steps, you're gonna run into me," he added, and it took Ryou a second to realize he was talking to Jyounouchi.

"Yeah, yeah," the blonde said, waving the comment off though he did change his footing.

"You can hold my hand if you want," Ryou offered, having only retracted one of them (which now was being used to find the wall). "The hallway's straight but the doors are all open, so don't lean on the wall." He started forward, feeling a few tickles in his throat and a few sharp tingles along his nose and ears, when Honda's larger hand closed around his. It was very warm, and Ryou was excessively pleased that it wasn't also sweaty. His own fingers and knuckles were cool, despite the temperature outside; he'd always had trouble with circulation, so things like air-conditioning worked a bit _too_effectively on him. It was genetic. He swallowed as he tried to keep his mind on track. "The door we want is on the end..."

He would have gone after the flashlight he kept in the kitchen, but then he would just have to go to his bedroom to find the candles anyway. He hadn't really thought about it before now, but he supposed that he should just knock out both problems at once.

Ryou had to wonder if his apartment waited for this day to come, because he didn't remember the floorboards creaking this badly before this very moment. He tried to think harder about that detail but he wound up drawing blanks. But it wasn't really a severe issue at the moment – he could always check on the floorboards after the power came back. Then he heard a shaky sound of distress come out of Jyounouchi and he couldn't stop himself from smiling about it. "Man your place is creepy," the blonde hissed. Honda snickered too, so Ryou did feel less bad about finding amusement in someone's fear.

"Or you're just a wuss," the tallest snarked. Both of them heard the growl that came in response.

"Come now, Honda-kun," Ryou said and his voice sounded light and happy. "He's not a wuss. It's normal to be scared of the dark... though not when you're older than ten."

Honda barked out a laugh, but it wavered at a point and Ryou realized from that, plus the dull thud that followed, that Jyounouchi must have punched him in the back. "I'm _not _scared of the dark!" he defended.

"Oh, really?" Honda crowed. "Is that why you've got a death-grip on my shirt?"

Apparently his word choice wasn't the best because another muffled smack came from the blonde at the end of the line. "Could you pick a different _word_...?" he whined.

Ryou tugged the both of them into his bedroom and wondered where to put them while he searched through the drawers. Honda must not have realized the slighter male had stopped, because he barreled right into him. Actually, he knocked into him hard enough to push both of them over, which thankfully was onto Ryou's bed and not the floor. He didn't have carpet in this room and he wasn't sure he could handle another fall without any real injury. "Ah!" he cried as he toppled over, and he felt the weight of the other land on top of him. His arm now bent at an awkward angle between both of them. After his wits came back to him and he heard squabbling from behind him, he realized that it wasn't Honda, but _Jyounouchi_that had caused this domino effect.

"What the hell, man!" Honda snapped. "Get off already."

"Yeah, well I didn't know there was gonna be a table in my way!" Jyounouchi shouted back. "It tripped me!"

"Yeah, I'm sure it went out of its way to do that."

"Shut up!"

"Guys," Ryou managed through his lungs being squashed. "You're still on me..."

Immediately he heard (and felt) the two scrambling to get up. Honda lifted himself up on his hands, which were placed at either side of the white-haired teenager's head, but Ryou, who was busy getting his body reaccustomed to oxygen, could still feel his body heat and it was really just awful that they were in a... _position_... with their hips touching...

"Sorry," Honda breathed against him and he felt the other trying to help him up. "You alright?"

Wasn't this the second time that he was being worried over in less than even ten minutes? "Yes, I'm alright." He shook his arm to try to make the pinched feeling at his elbow, and the numbness below it, go away. In that moment, he was grateful that there was next to no light, because he was pretty sure his face was pink. He cleared his throat and made sure he had his footing before he tried to locate the bedside table. He was surprised he hadn't heard it scraping across the floorboards because it seemed Jyounouchi had done quite a number on it – it had to be at least a foot from the wall where it used to be pressed against.

"Maybe next time this idiot will be more careful."

"You fell, too!"

"Only because you knocked me down!"

Ryou pulled away from Honda's hold to dig around in the drawer. He felt a sharp sting that only lasted a second and he thought maybe he'd accidentally found the metal ruler that had bent out of shape last summer when it was stepped on (and he kept it anyway, "just in case"). Then his fingers closed around what he knew was his old flashlight, and he pulled it out, staring right down at it even though he couldn't see it at all. After flicking it on, however, he was pleased to find the batteries worked, so he whirled around with a bright smile, hoping to cover up any embarrassment from before with the stark contrasting shadows. "It works!"

Jyounouchi shouted again and there was a crash as he jumped back. Ryou immediately dropped the flashlight from underneath his chin to shine it down at the blonde who'd found his computer chair. "Oh, I'm sorry," the pale teen murmured. He only just realized now that he must have looked like he was ready to tell the climax of a ghost story. "Do you need me to get the first aid kit...?"

Jyounouchi groaned and lifted one of his hands to his forehead. "I'll answer you when the room stands still," he answered. Honda sighed and helped him up. Ryou was glad for this, and he felt guilty for that, but the other's misfortune helped him forget being effectively pinned to his own bed.

"Don't worry, he just hit his head," Honda said, touching the back of it to check for swelling. "There's not a lot up there to damage." This time he received a quick punch to the chest. "Ow! You know it's true!"

"I'll knock _your_ head if you don't watch it," the blonde grumbled but at least now he was sitting up. Ryou decided that he would get the other the bag of frozen vegetables from his freezer for his head after he grabbed a few candles to light around the living room. Part of him loved to hear those two bicker but another part was sad – he didn't have anyone he could joke like that with. Well, he _could_, but those two were practically brothers. They loved each other and it was obvious from the way they acted. Even when they had their testy back-and-forths, they laughed about it in the end. They would break out into playful (or somewhat serious) wrestling at any given second. Ryou didn't have that. Not that he particularly wanted to _wrestle_, but he would like to have a friend that was that comfortable around him. Yuugi's group was a lot more laid back about his offering to host games for them than they used to be (and yes he did feel like he was genuinely one of their friends), but they went through a lot together that he didn't have the chance to be part of. Unfortunately, that was because a lot of their hardships were _his fault, _since his body was busy giving them hell. They banded together, and their friendship and trust in one another grew with each similar experience. He wasn't conscious for any of it. That was another reason he kept the Monster World figurines around – on the bookshelf in his game room, to be specific –, perfectly preserved in their display case. That was a battle he was _part_ of. That was one he had actual, physical proof of. He smiled a little at the memory. That was his first real adventure, and he was glad that he was able to make such amazing friends, ones that cared for him despite his Jekyll and Hyde personas. But still... he was greedy and he did want _more – _at least, from time to time.

"I'll go set these up," he told the two (who were exchanging actual normal conversation by this point). They both looked up at Ryou and made their own acknowledgment of what he said and pulled themselves to their feet. Jyounouchi was rubbing the back of his head while the other arm was being held by Honda, to make sure the blonde kept steady. Ryou decided that it looked protective, even if it wasn't meant to be that way. But Jyounouchi really must have clocked himself good and was just pretending he was alright for Ryou's sake if he wasn't well enough to keep his footing on his own. That worried Ryou. If he'd hit his head against the corner of the computer desk and not the chair like Ryou'd thought, he might have a concussion... The white-haired male decided not to bring it up again, but he made a mental note to check the knot for himself later.

He laid the candles out in a pattern by habit on the low table in the living room, before he struck one of the matches, lighting all five of them before it burned too low and he had to blow it out. "There!" he said and wiped his forehead like he had just finished a taxing workout. They were small, cheap candles he'd bought in bulk from a hole-in-the-wall store that tended to carry occult books and unusual merchandise. They weren't really made for being useful in a blackout, but he wasn't sure if he still had any other candles from before he had moved to Domino. Five of them, though, made enough of a difference, and Ryou decided that he could take the flashlight with him to the kitchen without leaving the other two to be in complete darkness.

Honda was sitting on the floor with one of his arms balanced on his knee, while the other hand was busy propping him up. Jyounouchi sat hunched over his folded legs, staring down at the candles warily. It was almost as if he were trying to come up with a reason that Ryou would have so many of the same type. He glanced up and over and caught the teen in question's gaze, and he immediately looked ashamed about it, even though it wasn't as if Ryou could read minds like Pegasus could. "When do you think the power's gonna come back?" he asked to break the silence.

Honda shrugged and Ryou was just about as useful for an answer. "It could be on any minute, though it could last for most of the night."

The blonde looked out the glass patio door, through the crack in the curtain over them, at the sun that was now almost done setting. "I sure hope it's not for the night," he said. He didn't want to have to walk home without any street lights (though he thought he did see a few that might've been on in the distance). It wasn't safe but he felt like he could handle himself pretty well in a scenario where he'd _have_ to handle himself. Just... not against monsters. He'd always had a weak stomach when it came to dead bodies and zombies and the like, but it only got worse after he saw them exist _outside_of a TV screen. The monsters hiding in his closet became far too real for his liking. He felt he was doing a lot better about it all than he was a year ago, but it was still downright humiliating. He could take on an entire gang with Honda at his back and not even bat an eye. He had stared down the end of a broken beer bottle and came out without any medically significant wounds. But if he even thought that he saw a ghost? He was done. Goodbye. Throw in the towel! Jyounouchi Katsuya was down for the count!

And yet, he was in the apartment of Bakura Ryou, whose dueling deck was chock-full of zombies and the rest of their undead, freaky companions. He felt his gut churn and his spine turn to ice at the very thought of it. He didn't want to know _why_ the kid had all of these candles or what they were originally intended for. He just _didn't_. And right now, his head was throbbing too much to really think on it, which was both a blessing and a curse.

"I'm sure it will be back before then," Ryou assured softly. He gave both of his guests a smile before he trekked off elsewhere in the house. After a few seconds, he spoke up again, though a wall was in the way so his voice sounded funny. "Oh, while I'm in the kitchen anyway, would you like anything to eat?" Then there was a pause and a quick correction. "Well, I guess there really isn't a lot of options without power, huh?" He laughed at himself and there was a clatter as he either moved a metal container or knocked into one. Honda and Jyounouchi both looked at each other and shrugged, figuring that it was a question that had answered itself and didn't actually need their input at this point.

"How's your head?" the brunette asked quietly. Neither of them really wanted to worry Ryou, so it was best they talk about it now.

Jyounouchi flapped his hand as an answer. "I've had worse." He checked where he had, in fact, whacked against the corner of a table. It was right at the base of his skull, and it was very tender when he touched it. He hissed in response and took his hand away quickly. "I beat myself up better than anyone else can," he joked. Honda shot him a grin and agreed, but he turned serious fast when he made to feel the injury also. The blonde twitched, but let him make contact with the spot for all of half a second before he knocked the hand away. "Don't be touchin' on me too much," he warned. "It's kinda gay."

Honda rolled his eyes but let his hand drop anyway. "Yeah; that's _exactly_why I'm touching you. You turned me, Jyounouchi. I'm from the other side, now. It's all because you changed in front of me in gym."

The blonde snickered. "Don't start painting your nails and wearing pink on me!"

"I missed something."

Both teens turned to see Ryou standing in the doorway of the room holding something indecipherable in one hand and the flashlight in the other (with another, smaller flashlight hanging off of his wrist by a strap), both of his eyebrows raised. The candle light really did just make him look pretty creepy. He was just too pale _not_ to look that way. His eyes also looked black right now, and Jyounouchi had to convince his stomach to stay where it was. This was just _his friend_. He was no scarier than Honda. ...Not anymore, at least.

"Just told this guy not to turn too gay on me," he said, jerking his thumb in Honda's direction.

Ryou's flickering gaze caught the brunette now. "You're gay?" he asked, surprised.

Honda immediately sputtered and waved his hands. "What? No!" The look he shot Jyounouchi was pretty priceless and the blonde laughed. But laughing hurt more than he was willing to endure, and he quieted down with a tapering groan. Before he could actually register what was going on, Ryou was at his side and there was something frigid pressed against the back of his head. He jumped, not having expected it, but Ryou hushed him.

"Here," he offered and only let go once he was sure Jyounouchi actually had a grip on it. "If that doesn't help, I can get some painkillers," he said, though he wasn't sure what a person should and shouldn't take with a concussion. Assuming the blonde had one, of course. He really hoped he didn't...

"Thanks, man," Jyounouchi said, and he meant it. The icepack was already helping and he closed his eyes at the feeling. He heard the other two talking around him.

"So you're not then...?" That came from Ryou.

"Not what?" Honda.

"Ah..."

A pause.

"Oh! No – no I'm not."

This pause was even longer than the first. Then, in what had to be the most awkward response Jyounouchi had ever heard come out of his friend, Honda asked: "Are you?"

Jyounouchi actually felt his eyes shoot open in surprise at that, but all that came from Ryou was a flustered sputter. "Not exactly," was the only coherent answer from the mess. That wasn't denying it, though. The blonde's eyes bugged out further, and both he and Honda shot the white-haired male a vaguely disturbed look.

Ryou couldn't meet either of their gazes, and instead found the ever-moving shadows to be quite enthralling. "I mean," he started again but then shut himself up pretty quickly. Defeated, his shoulders eventually dropped. "I don't know right now," he admitted, and it was obvious that he was both upset and embarrassed.

There was another silence, one that was now very awkward, that was drawn out between them. Ryou chewed on his lip and stared hard at the carpet, thinking. He had probably just ruined the evening. He shouldn't have said that. He should have just laughed it off, because really, he wasn't even sure he liked boys at all. It might wind up being something that he had to go back and straighten out with everyone later, admit that he was wrong, that he was confused, that he was just a silly teenager who had never been in a relationship. That he really was so thick that he couldn't tell a crush from friendship (and _wow_, did that make him sound deprived)...

"That's cool," Honda came out and said, but the words just sounded so ridiculous. In fact, they really weren't what he meant to say at all. He just wasn't sure what he _had_ wanted to say. "Well, not _cool_, but," he started again, and Jyounouchi, with what little of his brain that could be made to work, knew this was about to turn into a ramble that would wind up with the brunette's foot further and further in his own mouth. He elbowed him to save him a lot of grief about it later. Honda let out an "Oomf!" and then rubbed the afflicted spot. He didn't snap at Jyounouchi this time, though. "I never would have guessed," he wound up saying, after his brain finally caught up with his mouth.

Ryou blinked at them. "You wouldn't?" he asked. The tougher boys at school certainly had done more than just guessed it. This reaction was so much better than them running out the door, babbling different excuses that didn't match up, but he still wished he'd just denied it from the start.

Jyounouchi tried not to feel awkward, but it was plain as day that awkward was what they all were right then. But no one could blame him, with information like that suddenly being sprung on them...! He swallowed, and it sounded like the loudest thing within a hundred kilometers from where he sat. "How do you not know?" he managed to ask after a time. His own sick curiosity needed to be satiated, as weird as this subject was. "I mean, you either like someone or you don't," he said, as if attempting to clear his question up.

Ryou shifted beside him and then a breathy little chuckle came past his lips. "I'm glad it's that simple for you, Jyounouchi-kun." He shrugged again and fidgeted with his hands, idly running his thumb over the scar on the back of his left palm. "It's harder for me."

Honda and Jyounouchi both tried to think about that. It was natural to assume that if they looked at a girl and felt strange, that it was a crush. But what about guys? Did it feel different to have a crush on one of those? Or was it just that Ryou couldn't _tell_ if he had a crush on one or if it was just him being shy? He really was socially awkward, so maybe he was confusing that with a crush... Maybe he wasn't gay at all. Maybe there was nothing to worry about (though he'd _have_to be gay to want to avoid having a fanclub of girls following him around, Jyounouchi thought).

"Well," he started though he wasn't quite sure where to go with that. "Who do you think you like...?" Besides his curiosity, that made him sound more supportive of his friend. That sounded a lot better than just wanting to know for the hell of it, didn't it? Honda must have felt the same way because he leaned forward a little, like this was a secret that would be lost on them if they weren't giving their utmost attention.

Ryou, however, fidgeted even more and then shook his head harshly. "Oh, no! _That_, I'm not telling you!"

Jyounouchi tried to pretend he wasn't disappointed. He thought that maybe it would all blow over in a few weeks, and either Ryou would figure out he didn't like guys and the subject would be dropped or he'd wind up hooking up and they'd all find out who the object of affections was eventually. The latter thought wasn't really a pleasant one for him, and the blonde pulled a face about it. All of this thinking was hurting his brain, anyway, and he really wasn't sure he felt comfortable enough to keep talking about wanting to get with another guy (or lack thereof).

Silence fell on them again, but it didn't last very long before Jyounouchi spoke up. "I've got to take a leak," he said, eloquent as always. Ryou seemed relieved, and he passed one of the flashlights over to him in exchange for the makeshift icepack, before he pointed toward the pitch-black hallway. "It's the first door on the right."

"First door on the right," Jyounouchi repeated to himself under his breath as he left the security of the light from the candles, and though the flashlight he was holding was dinky and compact, it seemed infinitely brighter than they were. He was glad to leave that topic behind him (quite literally), but at the same time, it never did actually leave him. It was nipping at his brain and so he tried to focus only on the fact that he could _see_ the hallway now. As he ducked into the first open door on the right, he jumped and made a sound that wasn't quite a shout but it was just as damaging to his ego – if not _more_! It was basically a squeak! But then the monster that he'd just seen leaping at him reduced itself back to the shadow of the shower curtain splashing across the wall and reflecting in the mirror to double its size. He set a hand over his heart and tried to calm himself enough to make it to the toilet, which he thankfully still needed to use. He was so glad he hadn't accidentally... _not_ made it.

"Are you alright?" came the call from the living room and the blonde immediately felt a sense of mild security wash over him. There couldn't be anything else in this apartment but the three of them, and he had to remember that.

"Yeah," he answered. "Just, ah... just wasn't expecting that!" He cussed at himself quietly for having said it like _that_. That was really just opening himself up for Honda to make fun of him and for Ryou to ask what he had meant.

"Expecting what?" And there was Ryou, right on cue. Jyounouchi winced. He heard Honda say something, but he couldn't make out the words, and _that_ got to him. Wasn't the bastard going to say it loud and clear like always? What exactly was he saying, anyway? He growled and thought to smack the brunette later for it. But now, on to the first order of business...

"He probably just saw his own shadow," Honda said with a small grin. Ryou looked up from under his bangs and returned it.

"I still feel bad about scaring him earlier," he murmured, and even though he had already thought it, the other finished that for him.

"Don't worry; it's not hard to do."

Ryou snickered and he heard the bathroom door shut a little bit harder than he knew was necessary, so he lowered the volume of his amusement and covered his mouth with his hand. He hoped that they hadn't offended the other now. He also had to wonder if Jyounouchi was just rough with doors in general, because, somehow, he looked the type to slam them for no reason. The silver-haired teen scrunched his nose up at the thought of people having a "door look"... but he couldn't describe it any other way!

"Hey, you really don't have to work yourself up over it," Honda said awkwardly after a moment, and Ryou didn't follow him until his brain caught up with the here and now. Then he dawned a look of realization and shook his head profusely.

"Oh, I wasn't..." Well, he _was_ still guilty about it, but that wasn't what he had been thinking about. "He's not mad, is he?"

Honda stared off as if he could see through the wall. He was still for several (long-seeming) seconds, and then he shrugged his shoulders and broke the look with a slow blink. "Nah."

It was so quiet then that they could almost hear the small flames holding desperately onto the wicks – but Ryou tried _not_ to listen to the surroundings very hard, just in case he could hear business that should be kept in the bathroom. Instead of a rush of water, he (thankfully) heard the rustle of starched clothing, and he peeked at the other from the corner of his eye. Honda wasn't looking his way and was messing with his fingers, mashing them together, and he was putting the same amount of pressure on his lips; they were pursed into a thin line. Ryou started to feel like he had actually done lasting damage by letting it slip that he was unsure, and his heart started to pound at that terrifying thought. He suddenly felt panicked. He was debating with himself whether or not he should say something to clear it all up, and just as he was opening his mouth to start babbling, Honda interrupted him.

"Hey, ah, Bakura?"

When Ryou turned to fully face the other, he found that the interruption had been completely unintentional, since the brunette was still not looking at him. When he didn't get any sort of answer (which Ryou had honestly forgotten to give), his eyes darted over to the silver-haired teen and then away once they saw he actually had the boy's attention. "What you said earlier..." His words died on his tongue and he clamped his mouth shut. He looked like holding it in was going to make him burst at the seams, and Ryou felt a little concerned at the intense look Honda was giving the candles on the table. "What you said earlier," he repeated, "was it... I mean... is it... one of us?" he asked and his voice had dropped to such a level of secrecy that Ryou had to lean in to be sure he heard it.

Instead of answering, the paler of the two began biting down on his thumb and trying to let that pain ground him. His mind raced as he tried to come up with a proper answer. Should he just be truthful? Telling Honda could ruin his trust in Ryou, because really, turning gay for one of your guy friends was... not something one was supposed to do! In the end, it was his silence that was the answer to Honda's question, and the brunette grunted quietly in response.

"Is it Otogi?" he wondered. What was it about sitting in a dark room that made people need to talk about secrets? Maybe it was the subconscious bias that the dark would keep them safe as they let off weight that held them down. He laughed then, even though it was a little bit shaky. "I wouldn't blame you there, because just about every girl in school wants him..."

He was probably just trying to make Ryou feel more comfortable or better about the topic itself, but he was also probably fishing for information. Ryou let out a quick breath that was supposed to be his own chuckle. He didn't say anything, though, what with his brain having shut itself off by now, and his body beginning to start up into primitive panic mode.

The lack of a response was drawn out for too many seconds and suddenly Honda jumped, quite literally, and started to ramble. He was on edge, and apparently thought that he had actually upset Ryou, and not that the slighter male was just trying to cope with the conversation. "I mean, if it's Yuugi or something I wouldn't blame you either," he went on, and Ryou turned completely away from him. Now Honda just _knew_ that he had offended the other and was panicking himself up a storm. He had no idea what to do, and he had no idea what part of what he'd said was offensive. He reached out and touched Ryou's shoulder, wanting to turn the other so that they had to face each other, but was that just one more wrong move.

Ryou felt his face, ears, and neck burning like they were on fire, and he tried not to look traumatized about the turn this one-sided conversation had taken. He sucked in a breath but he couldn't find words, so he just let it out and repeated the action again. "I," he said, but his voice cracked and gave out. What word was that sound even supposed to have been? He shook his head again and chewed harder on his thumb. That was a really awful habit he'd developed with the Voice that he had been trying to break – and he had thought he had been doing pretty well, until now. What should he _say_? It wasn't either of those people! Yuugi had never been an option because he was with Anzu (and the two were so obviously in love), and Otogi, well... he had no real reason, other than he had just never considered the teen to be an option to begin with.

"Is it... me or Jyou?"

The question surprised both of them and Ryou tensed up, his teeth working even harder at the pad and nail. Honda couldn't believe he'd even asked it, but the shock turned into something else entirely when he got no reply once again. The toilet flushing in the sudden silence was jarring, but neither of them reacted at all. It was almost as if they had no room to be startled anymore during this. It was only a matter of seconds before Jyounouchi would be coming out of the bathroom, but Honda didn't rush his words. "Is it?"

Ryou's shoulders finally lifted and then dropped. Honda realized that his hand was still on the other's shoulder and he immediately withdrew it. Ryou's head dropped lower, taking that as a sign of how the other felt, which definitely wasn't anywhere close to his own.

"Is it _me_?"

Another weak shrug.

Honda's head was spinning so fast he started to get dizzy, so he shifted and stared very hard at the table. He wasn't actually seeing that though; he'd turned completely inward. Him? Really? Out of anyone a guy could turn for, and it was _him_? Even Miho had rejected him (and she'd certainly given more than a few longing glances Ryou's way, which said a lot about where he sat on the scale of no-to-desirable). He and Jyounouchi were the tough guys, but even though that was a trait girls always claimed to love, they treated the two of them like they were creeps on the subway. No, it wasn't _just_ them, and they took comfort in that, since it would be horrible to have something so wrong with them that not a single girl would ever want them and _only_ them, but... He swallowed hard. Trying to rationalize it, he thought that Ryou did have large, gentle eyes and long hair. And his hands were thin and soft, too. It disturbed him that he had _that_ fact memorized, but he used to watch the other with envy, as he tried to figure out what it was that girls liked about him. After all, his Ribbon-chan... Maybe it was just that Ryou looked so girly, so he thought he might be attracted to guys like other girls were? Was that how it worked? And was Ryou's type really the tough guy?

Honda looked over and caught sight of Ryou rubbing at his face with the back of his hand. His brain immediately jumped to the word "crying" and he acted without thinking – and as he held the slighter male's arm away, he was honestly surprised that there were no tears. Ryou hadn't been crying at all, but he looked to be frozen in shock at Honda's sudden reaction (or was it just plain old action on its own?). They both stared wide-eyed at each other for several seconds, Honda with his mouth flopping open and closed mindlessly. "Oh," he finally managed and he had no idea why he'd chosen that word, just like he didn't know why Ryou would choose _him_. "I don't mind," he said quickly. His case of verbal diarrhea was really quite bad, and later he would think about how absolutely stupid that was to say – as if Ryou needed _permission_ to have a crush! Or... maybe it was him accidentally and unintentionally consenting to it.

Ryou blinked once, twice, three times, and then he inhaled to speak. Just then, however, the bathroom door opened and both of them turned to look toward the hall, where the flashlight was being recklessly aimed around. For some reason the thought that he was thankful it was a flashlight and not a garden hose came to Ryou's mind; his floor would be soaked in every corner by now if it were. Funny how the panicked brain chose to jump to random things, almost as if it wanted a distraction...

The whole thing was like watching a movie, where it didn't actually affect the reality of the people sitting on the couch. They both watched, detached, as Jyounouchi came into sight. But, unlike a movie, when he turned to face them, he actually _saw them_. The blonde stopped and stared for a long time at Honda leaning over Ryou, holding onto him, and Ryou beneath the former, flushed a dark shade of pink. Honda only just noticed the blush because the flashlight was shining almost directly on them, very much like a spotlight.

Jyounouchi was the one to break this round of quiet as he asked: "What... are you guys doing?" Just after he finished speaking, the toilet also finished running water, and the apartment grew completely silent again. Honda awkwardly took his hand back, and Ryou rubbed his wrist like it had been shackled and released.

"I thought he was crying," the brunette explained lamely.

Ryou was surprised to hear that _that_ was the reason. "What? Why?" It seemed he'd finally found his voice.

Honda looked embarrassed now and gestured. "Well, you were touching your face..."

Ryou started to laugh after those words finally sunk in. It was definitely that his nerves were so strung up right now, and not because what Honda had said was actually _funny_, and it wasn't very long before the other teen in question joined in as well. Jyounouchi could do nothing else but stand there, flabbergasted, and let the scene play on. It seemed like _he_ was now the viewer on the couch, and he was watching what could only be a soap opera.

"I-I was just so scared," Ryou began, and it was hard for him to control himself long enough to finish his sentence. "I was so scared that you-that you would hate me," he finally managed out breathlessly. His eyes were starting to water, but he couldn't stop.

"Like that-like that would make me hate you," Honda wheezed out.

Ryou shook his head like he wanted to reply but was laughing too hard to speak. Jyounouchi had just decided that they had both gone off the deep end and weren't coming back, but he stayed uncharacteristically out of the conversation. It just felt like this was something he shouldn't interrupt, and he was weirded out enough to be a witness to it at all. He lowered the flashlight and then wound up turning it off because it wasn't doing him any good anymore, and it seemed downright disrespectful to just start ogling at everything in the room and pretending not to eavesdrop. So instead he went to inspect the back of his head, because, honestly, he really should be keeping an eye – er, _hand_ – on that.

The two finally began to calm down, both of them wiping at their eyes (which was sort of amusing, since the assumption of crying was what caused some of this). "I'm sorry," Ryou apologized. His sides felt like they were pulled tight, and his abdomen like he had been working out. "I shouldn't be laughing," he went on, but the endorphins from doing just that were making it hard to be upset about anything right then. Honda shook his head.

"I was, too," he admitted, and he even still sounded winded. He glanced at his blonde friend and waved him over. "Don't be a stranger, man, everything's fine – I promise."

While that was reassuring, at the same time, Jyounouchi once again felt insatiably curious about what he'd missed. But his loud mouth aside, he _did_ have his personal morals, and if the two wanted him in on what had just gone on, they'd tell him. He steadied himself and started over towards his friends, and he gave a theatrical exhale as he plopped down beside Ryou, dropping the flashlight onto the table as he did so. He wasn't really sure why he sat there, but maybe it was to make the kid feel better (because hearing that he thought Honda would hate him made Jyounouchi ashamed of how he had acted earlier, and the physical closeness was his way of saying things were cool between them). Honda leaned forward to give him a pair of raised eyebrows about it, and Jyounouchi shrugged in response. Then he glanced to the one in-between them, and Ryou was eyeing him almost bashfully through his bangs. The dirty-blonde blinked a few times at that, not sure at all what to make of it, and when he looked to Honda for some input, he saw the brunette staring down at Ryou, too. They both shared a look that Jyounouchi couldn't even hope to interpret (and maybe he wasn't supposed to), and where Honda acted surprised, Ryou just smiled. Honda then turned his gaze to watch Jyounouchi, and the blonde gave up his participation in this game and finally asked, "What?"

Honda's mouth dropped open and he looked Jyounouchi up and down, before he went back to Ryou, never seeming to find the words he wanted to say (or maybe he didn't even realize that he was gaping). The silver-haired teenager took a long, deep breath. "Crushes are just complicated, Jyounouchi-kun," Ryou said. When he finished speaking, he turned fully to who he'd been speaking _to_. He was smiling again, and if Jyounouchi didn't know better, he thought it looked a little sad. "Maybe one day you can help me out, since love is so simple for you."

_Nope, still apeshit nuts._ Just because they'd stopped laughing hysterically apparently didn't mean that the crazy-spell was over and done with. He felt like there was something that was just going totally over his head, like he was supposed to be getting the subtle hints that were being dropped at (and on) him. It made him uncomfortable that they were falling straight through his fingers. ...Unless... His eyes widened almost comically and it was his turn to gawk at Ryou (who should have been worried about whether or not said eyeballs would fall right out of his skull). He sputtered. "Wait, do you," his head whipped up to look at Honda, "does he-?"

This was also apparently news to Honda, if his mirrored look had anything to say about it. "Both of us?" the brunette asked.

Jyounouchi waved his hand around like it would somehow paw a few answers out of the air for them. "What the hell do you mean _both_?" he demanded. He wasn't angry, but he didn't care if it sounded like it just then. Damnit, he _needed_ things spelled out for him! That wasn't always the case, but right now it was!

Ryou covered his mouth with his hand. When he lowered it, he asked, "Is that too greedy?" Oops – he'd meant to say _strange_. But really, wasn't keeping an open mind and multiple options the smart way to go about everything? A person couldn't just rely on Plan A to work, so there had to be a Plan B (or C or D...). Not that he'd ranked either one of them above the other, but it just happened to work out in a way where he'd confessed (however inadvertently) to Honda first. But no matter how he tried to explain it, the bottom line boiled down to that he couldn't actually control who made his heart skip a beat.

He supposed there could have been a better way to go about this whole ordeal, but it was too late now. The cat was miles away from the bag it had bolted from.

"A little," Honda said, but he didn't look... horrified, or anything. That was good. He did look thoughtful, though. "But you've always been kinda weird," he admitted. The way he'd said that, the tone of his voice and the small (very small) smirk, spoke good things for Ryou's relationship status. His heart started up its marathon, but the look he'd been given turned neutral pretty fast, and Ryou was left to assure himself that it had, in fact, been present at all.

"No," Jyounouchi said, and he even went so far as the stick his accusing finger almost between the two of them, interrupting not only their conversation, but their eye contact as well. "You're _both_ fuckin' weird as all hell." He held his expression for a few more seconds before it softened up (even if he was obviously not entirely comfortable). "But if I minded, I would have found other people to hang out with."

This was starting to turn mushy, and mushy wasn't what any of them did. ...At least, not yet. Not so soon. Maybe not at all.

"Please, as if you could find anyone else willing to hang out with _you_," Honda said, and just like that, the moment fled (probably to join the cat). He gave his long-time friend a lopsided grin, and Jyounouchi couldn't stop his own lips from twitching into a mimic of it.

"Excuse me? Do you know what people would _give_ to hang out with me? _The_ Great Jyounouchi Katsuya?"

"Not much, that's what."

"Why you–!"

The scuffle nearly started on top of Ryou, but he _liked_ that. Not for any weird sort of sexual reason, but because... he finally felt included. And whether that was how he was supposed to take it or not, it made him happy.

As he broke out into another fit of giggles, the lights flickered a few times before they came back on with a pop.


End file.
